Benfica vs Bayern Munich Betting Tips and Predictions

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Lisboa e Benfica

Benfica

Bayern Munich

Benfica eased their way through to the quarter finals, winning both legs of their round of 16 against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, and after an early slip up against Bayern Munich in the first two minutes of the first leg, looked convincing and concentrated defensively, despite missing goalkeeper Julio Cesar and two of their core central defenders. Benfica are on the peak of their form lately and have won all of their last seven matches in the Primeira Liga, with their last defeat being against rivals FC Porto in the league in February.

Bayern Munich are in equally good form, having won over the weekend in the Bundesliga giving six straight wins in all competitions heading into this clash. Munich lead 1-0 on aggregate and are looking to qualify for their fifth consecutive UEFA Champions League semi-final appearance by capitalising on this advantage against Primeira Liga leader’s Benfica, who themselves are keen for their first semi-finals since 1990.

Benfica have never beaten Bayern Munich, however, having lost five and drawn two from seven meetings between the two clubs. Against Bayern Munich at home, Benfica have managed to draw twice, two 0-0’s in 1976 and 1981, and and only lose once, a 3-1 defeat in 1995, a record slightly better than their away record versus the Bavarians. Bayern Munich have knocked out Benfica in each of their three previous home/away encounters across all European competition (1975/76 European Cup, 1981/82 European Cup, 1995/96 UEFA Cup) and in each of these seasons Bayern Munich went on to reach the final.

Bayern Munich are big favourites for this clash, considering their strong form across all competitions, but Benifca will certainly continue to give them a good fight as in the first leg. Benfica may have won the last four straight games at home, and the last seven straight in the league, but as they rarely come up against teams as strong and dominant as Bayern Munich, it’s hard to see them being able to overturn the 1-0 deficit from the first leg, especially with the looming threat of a dreaded away goal being so advantageous to Munich. At the same time they are a real force to be reckoned with in the attacking third, as we saw from the danger they created in the Allianz Arena last Tuesday, and if Munich still hold the lead towards the late stages of the second leg, we can expect to see goals on both sides as Benfica throw men forward and Bayern capitalise on the counter. Combining the analysis above with the statistics below, expect both teams to score in this Bayern Munich dominated match with Benfica taking a consolation goal away and a final score of Bayern Munich 2-1 at 15/2 being top value.